MnMikew:

When I got my first amateur license (1969) I had an old karr cb radio
driving a 100 watt amp which drove a final amp of 1200 watts. From
there did couriers, johnsons, cobras, unidens, browning eagles, trams,
etc on CB...

Now I run an old russian 5KW linear. Thing is a battleship (100%
keydown time at 3.5KW in), and 1 to 75MHz bandcoverage. At 1KW with
reduced input voltage and drive it purrs, same russian tubes have been
running in it for over two decades and constant usage, tubes still
check out great. I have a newer 3.5KW unit but the old 5KW is my
favorite.

There is a lot to like about old equipment. I have ran newer amps but
none finer than this old timer... australia is only a quick CQ away,
anyday the band conditions are barely alive...

CB has always been one hell of a lot more fun than amateur radio. I
will always be a CB'er at heart, and an amateur second...

John

"MnMikew" wrote in message
...

"beerbarrel" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 12:51:10 -0500, "MnMikew"
wrote:


"beerbarrel" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 12:21:35 -0400, dxAce
wrote:


The written test probably does as well. Should that also be
dropped.

If one can't learn even a minimum 5 WPM then they have no
business in
amateur
radio. 5 WPM is incredibly easy, heck, even the 'tards should
be able
to
master
that.

dxAce
Michigan
USA



CW is not going to go away just because they drop the
requirement.
Like Steve says, It's not that hard. Most anyone can learn 5 wpm
in as
little as a month or less. I think that something worth having
is
worth earning.

I say give techs a piece of HF and if they like HF, they can take
the
test
to get access to the rest of it. I'm half-heartedly studying for
the tech
test and only really have interest in 2m right now.




I guess I would never agree to that because I worked to pass the
test.
It's just like the older guys doing 18 wpm. They don't see 5 wpm as
a
test. If they gave Tech's a small piece of the HF band can you
imagine
the crowd on that band? I think that you would wind up hating HF
because you would be fighting pile ups all the time. Bottom line, I
think that it would make you feel better to earn it rather than
have
it given to you. It makes you appreciate it more.

It's not going to help at all to cut CW. It won't bring more folks
into ham radio. It will only serve to create more traffic on the HF
bands.

As far as 2m goes, It's great for a little while, but it gets
boring
pretty quick. HF is they way to go. You will see.

THATS MY POINT! Sure it might get crowded, I doubt it but it could
happen.
Seems the more the merrier? So people get bored on 2 and 6m and
eventually
drop out of ham radio. Perhaps if their interest was peaked with
some HF
they'd get motivated to get the code. Or if they dont like HF, no
biggie.

Guess I could always get an amp and a modded Galaxy. :-)